Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Monthly Reading

As mentioned in the previous post, I'm reading the Book of Mormon this month, in its entirety. I thought, since I wouldn't have time to go through footnotes and cross-references, that it might be fun to try reading it in a way that I had never tried before. When I was in Palmyra, NY maybe 7 or 8 years ago, I was at the little bookstore/publishing house where the Book of Mormon was printed for the first time. They sell copies of the Book of Mormon that are replicas of that first set of 500 books that were published in 1830. They have no verses, no footnotes, no cross references, and the chapters are even organized differently. It reads almost like a novel. I bought on, and it has been sitting on my shelf ever since. I decided that I'd use it for this month's Book of Mormon challenge.

It's been so interesting to me to read it, and to internalize the things I've read so many times in such a different way. It feels so much more continuous, and it flows together so well. It's also been interesting to read it as the early Saints read it. This is the way that my ancestors learned the gospel!

It's good for reading it quickly, but it's also making me seriously appreciate all the work that went into adding footnotes etc, and matching verses that match up to doctrine found in the Bible. I'm so impressed with the effort, work, and time it must have taken some very patient and well-read people. It's kind of amazing, actually. I've been loving my hour with the Book of Mormon every day, and I may just keep that up, as long as I have the time. I'll probably go back to reading my modern copy, as it has its pros, but I recommend trying out the old format if you haven't!